claire west reading & writinghttps://clairewest.com.au
Book recs & beyond. @clairepwest on Twitter.Sun, 26 Nov 2017 10:12:00 +0000en
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1 http://wordpress.com/https://s0.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngclaire west reading & writinghttps://clairewest.com.au
Claire’s holiday reading recshttps://clairewest.com.au/2017/11/26/claires-holiday-reading-recs/
https://clairewest.com.au/2017/11/26/claires-holiday-reading-recs/#respondSun, 26 Nov 2017 09:40:47 +0000http://clairewest.com.au/?p=867I’m gearing up for literally the busiest work period of the year for me, followed by wrapping up at work and packing before I leave for Melbourne, so I’m not in holiday mode yet, but I know plenty of people who are!

Here are some books I’ve enjoyed that I would classify as good holiday reads. I can’t guarantee they’re all relaxing, but they all kept me glued to the page. A few are recent-ish but most are a few years old.

I hope you enjoy, and tell me if you read anything from this list!

If you like celebrity gossip, cult memoirs and sassy women who take no shit:

Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini

The sitcom star and former Scientologist (who donated millions to the church over her life) explores her path through Scientology, her gradual disillusionment and decision to leave, and her life now. Remini has a very distinctive voice and this book is an easy read despite the intense subject matter. It contains SERIOUSLY CREEPY Scientology celebrity gossip and some heartbreaking examples of the group’s effect on families and individuals.

If you’ve dealt with the unpredictability of maintaining a close friendship group after high school and university:

The Fifth Letter by Nicola Moriarty

I read this in one evening – a very easy read, relatable characters and an intriguing mystery to solve. Four friends since high school are now in their thirties and on holiday together – as part of a game they each anonymously share a secret. One of the women finds a fifth secret that’s horrifying and changes the dynamic of their friendships. I’ve read a few of Nicola Moriarty’s books and always enjoyed them- what a talented family! (Yes, she is Liane and Jaclyn’s sister, two more amazing authors).

If you’ve ever stumbled upon one of those “In Defense of Mrs Bennett” think-pieces and thought ‘Hey, they have a point!’ (see here for a key example)

Longbourn by Jo Baker

The Downstairs to Pride and Prejudice’s Upstairs takes a sobering, gritty look at the world surrounding the Bennett family. It’s not the most lighthearted novel but it’s engrossing and feels very real to this longtime P&P fan.

If you don’t have a lot of time to read but want to be caught up in a magical, fun new world:

Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

This was one of the most-hyped books of the year and since its recent release has hit bestseller charts here and in the States. It’s an absolutely charming kid’s book in the vein of Harry Potter, but it has enough unique characters world-building to be its own special universe. It’s aimed at kids but honestly, if you enjoyed HP then you’ll devour this.

If you want some thought-provoking non fiction that will stick with you:

The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein

An extraordinary memoir about a woman whose business is cleaning up after unimaginable scenes (murder scenes, hoarding situations and more). Sandra Pankhurst’s early life is juxtaposed with her current career, and the graphic nature of her life and work is explored with sensitivity. It’s not a light read by any means but is compelling and very well written.

If you want something straight up trashy and fun (and still nurture a soft spot for Sweet Valley High’s most amoral blonde, Jessica Wakefield):

Mad by Chloé Esposito

This was an uber dramatic, over the top, salacious beach read. Alvina’s life in London is a drunken, lonely mess, and when her seemingly perfect twin sister Elizabeth (Sweet Valley wink much?) dies, Alvina takes the opportunity to become Elizabeth. Lots of drugs, sex, murder and other BAD decisions. It’s not high literature but it was hard to put down (and yes, I did read this one on a beach holiday).

I read a lot of books from NetGalley, where if you’re a blogger or in the book industry (eg, a buyer like me) you can apply to read advance ebook copies of books. There are a few factors that lead to you getting approved for books you want – having a strong social media presence, having a good track record of reviewing your titles on NetGalley, or your geographic region. Once you’ve finished a book you can write a review and rate it on the site – this info from early readers can be useful for publishers. If your “books received to feedback given” ratio gets too low publishers may be reluctant to allow you access to their titles.

It has a number of Australian publishers on it providing access to selected books, but it looks to be mostly populated by US & UK publishers and their upcoming titles. Being in Australia, you don’t always get approved for things that aren’t being published here yet. There’s no hard feelings from me here – I know it costs publishers money to have titles distributed by NetGalley, and it makes sense to prioritise readers who are actually in the region to which you supply.

I’m very appreciative of the publishers that have allowed me access to books on this platform and I thought it would be fun to do a quick round up of some of my favourite NetGalley finds. There are a LOT of these (I’ve been using NetGalley regularly since 2014) so this post will most likely be Part 1 of a few. To start us off:

I will forever be grateful to Quirk Books for approving my request to read this one because it is now one of my ALL TIME FAVOURITE BOOKS. It’s about a group of high school girls in the eighties – a night of fun goes awry and Abby suspects her best friend Gretchen is possessed by something very sinister.

Here are some of the things I love about this novel of deep friendship, nostalgia and horror:

set in the 80’s and the chapter titles are 80’s songs

the 80’s references were on point without feeling like a parody or novelty book

the Satanic panic featured is scary and fascinating

actually really creepy with several scenes that are straight up horrifying

one of my favourite depictions of teenage friendships (both the good and bad aspects)

amazing cover art for both the hardcover (the yearbook photo) and paperback (the VHS cover)

the author seems really cool – he also wrote HORRORSTOR which is one of the reasons I’m lowkey fascinated by IKEA.

A musician reminiscent of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin reflects on her life and music as she puts together a greatest hits album. As a music fan, and a big ol’ feminist, this tale of a woman’s strength and creativity in an often misogynist industry was at times enraging, always engrossing. The musician Kathryn Williams has actually recorded the songs that the protagonist Cass Wheeler writes – they can be found on Spotify at this link.

A multifaceted account of a school shooting that was full of intense emotion. At first the many different characters and their relationships to one another took a bit of effort to keep track of but this was a really fantastic read that I couldn’t put down. After reading this one I contacted the author on Twitter to let her know how much I enjoyed it, and she sent me a package (from the Netherlands!) of signed bookmarks that I put into copies of the book once they hit the shelves at my then-store. When it first came to Australia, it was only available in a $24 hardcover (not ideal for YA), but because I’d already read it and loved it, I was able to take a chance on it that I might not have otherwise. I’ve been so pleased to see the continued success of this one.

Harper is a ballerina whose whole identity is wrapped up in dancing. A major setback causes her to question everything, and through family connections she finagles herself a spot on an Antarctica science expedition. Such an original mix of subject matters, setting and well realised characters. It made me curious about Antarctica in a way I never had been before, and the slice of life portrayed out there was fascinating.

Thanks for reading – if you’ve used NetGalley as a reader, author or publisher I’d love to hear your experiences!

]]>https://clairewest.com.au/2017/11/17/netgalley-101-and-a-few-of-my-netgalley-favourites/feed/03f3115cclairereadingfake doors257667172452912325430623.jpgMy Go-To List of Lovely Books for New Babieshttps://clairewest.com.au/2017/10/16/my-go-to-list-of-lovely-books-for-new-babies/
https://clairewest.com.au/2017/10/16/my-go-to-list-of-lovely-books-for-new-babies/#commentsMon, 16 Oct 2017 08:34:05 +0000http://clairewest.com.au/?p=494Now I’m in my thirties, a lot of my friends and family are having babies – and they need books! I love choosing books for kids, especially the ones that you hope will last a long time and become a treasured part of their library growing up. I do usually tend toward the sturdier hardcovers for that reason, but there are some books only available in paperback that I am always eager to gift. I’ve listed below some of my favourites to help anyone looking for a nice baby present.

By the way, if you have any specific questions about the content of these books, sing out and ask me! Goodreads.com is also a good place to get a feel for the content of a book, so I’ve linked their review page. I’ve marked Australian authors with an (A), as that’s been a specific request I’ve had a few times when helping friends find baby books.

I had this book as a kid and adored it – I pored over it endlessly. It’s a sweet and gently humorous collection of objects a baby might encounter in their daily life: prams, breakfasts, baths, nappies and my favourite page as a kid – accidents! The accidents page included eating lipstick, falling into a toilet, and helpfully shelving books into a fish tank. As a toddler I apparently put a phone into a family friend’s fishbowl so it possibly spoke to me on a deep level.

I had been handselling this book for ages when I worked at Ariel Booksellers, and so I felt personally vindicated when it became an international bestseller. It’s a cute story about a young boy’s crayons who have decided they’re sick and tired of being used in the same old ways.

There are several Pigeon books and I LOVE all of them. The reader is put into the position of having to stop the pigeon from doing all manner of things (drive a bus, stay up late, eat a hotdog). The pigeon alternately rages and cajoles and it’s delightful. These are only out in paperback, so I’ve often given the first few books in this series as a present.

The bear has a hat, he’s lost it and he wants it back! The spare illustration style manages to convey so much emotion and the slightly shocking ending makes this a very memorable read. Followed by this one is This Is Not My Hat, and We Found A Hat – great gift ideas all together or individually.

The lyrics to Lennon’s song Imagine accompanied by bright, cheerful illustrations, with a foreword by Yoko Ono. It was released in partnership with Amnesty International, with a portion of the proceeds going to Amnesty.

I have a bad feeling this one is out of print but I LOVE it so I’m including it here. I came across it for the first time when I was teaching Year Eleven Extension English. We were doing Narratology and it was a fantastic example of embedded narrative (story within a story). (By the way, using picture books to illustrate complex literary techniques is so so much fun). Papa Chicken is reading fairy tales to Little Chicken, who can’t help but insert herself into the story and give all the characters some well-needed advice.

Jeannie Baker is basically magic. I was once lucky enough to see an exhibition of her work and examining the artwork’s she’s constructed is awe inspiring. Mirror tells two parallel stories of two children – one in Sydney, one in Morocco. It’s wordless, constructed ingeniously and is the type of book to foster an appreciation of the similarities very different families can share.

A more recent entry to the list, this has just been released. It’s a joyful recitation of all the things a child will be able to do once they are grown up (eat sweets on the way to work, watch cartoons until their eyes go square, and be brave enough to fight creatures under the bed). Fans of the Minchin-penned Matilda musical will recognise the lyrics from the second act opener.

Another Jeannie Baker classic, this one with a focus on environmental conservation and the changes that take place in a landscape over time.

Please let me know what your favourite baby gift books are! There are so many adorable babies, and they all need mountains of fantastic books.

]]>https://clairewest.com.au/2017/10/16/my-go-to-list-of-lovely-books-for-new-babies/feed/41401165clairereading6827519780141343358the-book-with-no-pictures16101018389623652610911233988imagine80364408036479my-very-first-mother-goose977817xwhen-i-grow-up.jpg.pagespeed.ic.IKtAie9GYg1401165Bit and pieces!https://clairewest.com.au/2016/06/13/bit-and-pieces/
https://clairewest.com.au/2016/06/13/bit-and-pieces/#respondMon, 13 Jun 2016 09:02:09 +0000http://clairewest.com.au/?p=444I wanted to do a brief post linking to two of the things I’ve worked on for Dymocks over the last little while – although this kind of thing isn’t part of my actual job, they have been occasional interesting side quests along my day to day work.

I wrote this last September about YouTube stars who had books out, and I think since I wrote it several new YouTuber careers have risen and fallen (and I don’t think I was familiar with Vine at all back then). It was fun to research and write though, so even if it’s a bit outdated in June 2016, I’m still proud of it. Quick excerpt:

If your friends, siblings, or children are spending hours talking to their laptops, referring to spending time with others as “collabs”, or giving themselves bizarre “challenges” to complete on film — congratulations, you know an aspiring YouTube star. YouTube stars post videos on all topics, ranging from video games, makeup, to mental illness or even watching your own birth video with your mother (one of the latter from Tyler Oakley has over 3.5 million views). Many of these stars have branched out and are now releasing music, creating fashion lines, and some have even written books!

With the rise and rise of vlogging (video blogging) as a means of self-expression amongst teens and tweens, it can get overwhelming keeping track of the new breed of celebrities that are shaping today’s culture right from their own bedrooms.

Although we can’t list them all (a new star is emerging every day!), below we give you a primer on some of the biggest YouTube stars with books already out or books on the way.

Second thing I’d like to share is a podcast! In January this year, I was lucky enough to talk to Justine Larbalestier about her new novel My Sister Rosa for the Dymocks Podcast. This was a really enjoyable interview for me, as I’ve been a big fan of her work for a while, and had read My Sister Rosa over the course of a single evening (it was so tense I couldn’t put it down!). I’d met Justine at few events before recording this podcast and I think that helped me to not sound too nervous. I’m really pleased with how it came out, even though usually I cringe listening to a recording of myself. We discussed psychopathy, bad parents in her novel, the difficulty of depicting large friend groups in YA, upcoming books she’s excited about and a whole range of cool things.

Looking back through pieces I’ve worked on is a good motivation for me to keep writing, and I’m hoping to add more to my blog in the coming weeks.

]]>https://clairewest.com.au/2016/06/13/bit-and-pieces/feed/0clairereadingWhy Illuminae would be awesome to teach in high schoolhttps://clairewest.com.au/2016/05/07/why-illuminae-would-be-awesome-to-teach-in-high-school/
https://clairewest.com.au/2016/05/07/why-illuminae-would-be-awesome-to-teach-in-high-school/#respondSat, 07 May 2016 07:10:47 +0000http://clairewest.com.au/?p=284
In my job, I get easy access to a huge amount of books. Most of that is young adult literature, and when I really like a YA novel I inevitably end up thinking about its potential as an English class text. Before I moved to Sydney, I taught at a selective high school for different blocks of time and subjects. Mostly English, but also Drama, Ancient History, Society& Culture (with one or two terrifying PE periods – I’m thankful no one got hurt!). The teachers I worked with were AMAZING people, both as educators and as general human beings, and at times the students had moments of intelligence and creativity that make me smile years down the track (they also had moments of being noisy and obnoxious, but that’s less important to remember).

(Below – essential staffroom equipment and the gorgeous view from my old desk)

I also spent about a year tutoring primary and high school students in English once I moved to Sydney. As an English teacher or tutor, you’re constantly on the lookout for texts that are new and interesting that have classroom potential. What you can teach is obviously very tied to the syllabus requirements, the particular culture of your school and the age of the students – and actually having the time to wade through new books, movies & articles can be a daunting task for an already time-pressed teacher. Every now and then I think to send a quick message to an old co-worker with suggestions of books I’ve read recently that could be useful in a classroom, but I haven’t been keeping track of these – I’d like to start now. An ongoing feature on this blog will be new & older/potentially overlooked books that I think could be useful to teachers – whether as set texts or even just to recommend to a student. I’m probably going to keep my notes fairly casual rather than specifically going into detail about which outcomes/etc would be addressed in studying a particular title. I’m also not doing books in any particular order at this point, it’s just what comes to mind first.

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman –
Ok, it’s a large, heavy book and might be a tough sell for a class set of 30 but this would be such a fun novel to teach, even just a close study of an extract. You’ve got a fairly relatable high school breakup angle, along with the slightly less relateable but very exciting spaceship war going on, and the storytelling is done through so many different text types – interview transcripts, official reports, casualty lists, and more. Experiencing a story in this way can help students be more creative in their storytelling as they see a model of ‘showing, not telling’. The inclusion of propaganda and meaningful silences in the story can be a gateway to discussions of critical literacy and the essentially biased nature of history where the winners write the definitive accounts. It’s scifi that’s found a place with lots of people who don’t normally enjoy scifi (me, for one) and could potentially open up a teen to whole areas of literature they’ve not considered before.

The visual element of Illuminae is also a key factor in my enthusiasm for its use as a teaching tool. The different types of documents all look authentic and stand out from each other, and in the second half of the books a particular character’s thoughts are presented in artistic, striking ways that feel like they belong in a graphic novel (trying to do this without too many spoilers).

A really good interview with both authors can be found here, and I want to spotlight one particular point Kaufman makes about the balance of plot and form, for anyone concerned that the novelty of the format could overshadow the story.

Although you can’t separate out the story from the way we tell it in ILLUMINAE, we wanted to make sure that the characters had depth, that our plot had all the twists and turns, surprises and swoons and drama that you’d hope for in a book you love. We wanted the story to be good enough that even if it had been written in the conventional way, readers would love it—and then we wanted to meld it with the alternate format we’d chosen. So that meant really looking at every character arc and every inch of the plot, and making it stand up to the standards we’d set.

I’m not the only one who strongly feels that Kaufman and Kristoff most definitely succeeded in creating such a story – Illuminae received fantastic reviews. “Ambitious, heartbreaking, and out-of-this-world awesome” was one review’s closing line, and I’ve seen this sentiment echoed many times in real life, on blogs and Twitter since the book’s release last year. One review in Publishers Weekly stated “The more experimental sections may require extra effort on readers’ parts, but the result is worth it” which seems like a ringing endorsement for educational use in my view. The sequel, Gemina is coming out later this year, Brad Pitt’s production company is turning it into a movie and another series from the pair has just been announced, so the reaction to Illuminae has been positive in a range of ways.

There are some seriously creepy horror elements & violence that would make Illuminae most appropriate in my opinion for senior students. I know there are many younger teens that can and should read this novel on their own, but if you’re teaching a novel in class it can be risky to assign anything too scary/adult (it’s all about knowing your students and your school’s philosophy around this kind of thing, really). You can definitely find excerpts that would be safe for most high school classrooms, and if you haven’t read Illuminae yet, I highly recommend you do so.

On my blog, I want to talk about some of my favourite Aussie kids fiction – starting off here with Robin Klein, who I read and endlessly reread in primary school, high school and beyond (the children’s literature section of my uni library had a great selection). It wasn’t until I started to work at a bookstore in uni and grasped the concept of ‘out of print’ that I began collecting every Robin Klein book I could find at secondhand bookstores and charity shops, rather than assuming they’d forever be available to me at libraries. Robin Klein’s characters feel like a classic snapshot of a particular 80s, 90s and suburban Australia – and I always found the emotional journeys of her characters really honest. Penny Pollard, the first Robin Klein character I encountered, was a fierce and tough young girl whose determination to own all the horses/never wear a dress/beat up her nemesis Jason Taylor felt irreverent and often touching as she finds friends in unexpected places (but never Jason Taylor). The first book, Penny Pollard’s Diary, sees her reluctantly visit a retirement home as part of a school excursion, run off when she is supposed to be performing songs from The Sound of Music, and run into Edith Bettany, an equally prickly retirement home rebel who becomes a good friend. The books are almost a precursor to Diary of A Wimpy Kid/ Timmy Failure types of contemporary intermediate fiction as they combine blocks of text in letters, diary entries, articles etc with pictures (lots of horses) and cartoons.

From Penny Pollard’s Letters by Robin Klein, illustrated by Ann James

Penny’s adventures in later books involve being sent to stay with a stuffy aunt when her brother is born, teaching her geeky friend Alistair to stand up to bullies, travelling to Europe, attempting matchmaking, and being forced to act as flowergirl in a wedding. I loved reading about her projects, like trying to get the local stables to employ her, pitching (constantly rejected) articles for the local newspaper, and hammering several horseshoes into her ceiling to make it look like a horse had walked across it (she took a good chunk of paint and plaster out of the ceiling and her father was not thrilled). She wasn’t waiting for anyone’s permission to take on her many and varied projects, and never got really discouraged even after setbacks – this made her a fantastic role model to me, even though she had her faults (she was pretty rude sometimes and wasn’t too fussed on personal hygiene). I’m the first to admit they are a bit (a lot) dated with very old school slang and prices, but nothing that kids can’t figure out on their own.
They would be fun reads for most kids around 8-12. I didn’t share many of Penny’s interests like the outdoors and horses and I still LOVED these books. I’m so happy the first one has recently been reprinted by Hachette (I may have squeaked when I saw it in an order form and startled the lovely rep I was meeting with) although I do prefer the original A4 format, rather than the current smaller one (I understand why they’d change it though, the old formats would look pretty out of place alongside contemporary titles.)

To wrap things up I need to say that if you see Penny Pollard’s Guide to Modern Manners in the A4 format pretty please let me know asap so I can add it to my collection. She writes an advice column for her schoolmates and answers questions such as “What should I do if I open two identical duck-handled umbrellas at my birthday party?”* – some of her advice stuck with me throughout my life! It’s one that has eluded me on my search and I’d love to find it again.

* The answer is to be super grateful for both, say “How handy – I can keep one at home, and one in the family car!”

From Penny Pollard in Print by Robin Klein, illustrated by Ann James

]]>https://clairewest.com.au/2016/01/20/penny-pollard-is-my-favourite/feed/0clairereadingbest of #clairereads2015https://clairewest.com.au/2015/12/20/best-of-clairereads2015/
https://clairewest.com.au/2015/12/20/best-of-clairereads2015/#commentsSun, 20 Dec 2015 07:37:24 +0000http://clairewest.com.au/?p=103Given there’s under 2 weeks left in 2015 I think it’s safe to make the call on my favourite reads! I’ve kept a pretty close record of everything I’ve read this year which makes a round-up for the year a simple enough task.

These are all books I own (or am planning to buy once they are released) and will eagerly reread, along with their date of publication. The notes for each are minimally edited from my initial notes I took after I read each one. I’ll link to their Goodreads page so you can see a synopsis and more detailed reviews.

Clancy’s family interactions felt real & relatable, her intense crush on a girl in her town painfully sweet and awkward. Clancy would probably be one of my favourite protagonists of 2015 as she deals with family trauma & slowly makes a friend or two.

I read it in one evening- I was so excited for this one & it didn’t disappoint. It’s about a 17 year old boy with a sister who’s a straight up sociopath. A really full and interesting cast of characters along with a plot that you know isn’t going to end well for anyone but you cannot stop reading for a moment.

In a nutshell, this is about a huge sci fi battle along with an incredibly sweet love story, told through a collection of interviews, emails, chat logs and official documents. Had some particularly creepy moments and some touching ones. I enjoyed the creepy ones the best- there was some horror movie level stuff in here! It’s massive but isn’t as intimidating a read as it may seem as there are many pages with less than a paragraph of text, diagrams, etc. I think it’s my front runner for ‘book I liked way more than expected’ of 2015. I was lucky enough to meet the authors for the Sydney launch and they were so nice. I’m thrilled at the success it’s had and news of a sequel & possible movie are very exciting.

Some sentences in this book were just so perfect I wanted to underline them like I was going to be writing an essay on it. Lucy juggles the demands of a prestigious school with her family responsibilities and emerging sense of self.

This one punched me in the feelings face. I usually shy away from historical fiction (unless it’s Sarah Waters) but I kept hearing about this one with the most glowing praise so I’m really glad I finally read it. Two friends communicate via letters and diary entries as we see what’s led to one of them being captured by the Germans in WWII.

Really good YA about racism, police brutality, realising privilege and dealing with the after effects of violence. It’s the kind of novel that feels complete even without a totally tied-up ending (even though I did want to know more about what happened after, it ended at an appropriate spot).

Teen girl discovers her grandma in Appalachia is deathly sick and that the nearby mine that employs half the town could be to blame. It dealt with issues of poverty and class in nuanced ways, not shying away from gritty realities.

Fiona Wood is amazing. I was initially skeptical about the ‘wish’ element but it all came together really nicely. Van Uoc was an outwardly quiet protagonist who seethes and shimmers internally, and following her journey was a highlight of a year filled with amazing Aussie YA.

This graphic novel is lovely, melancholy and straight up beautiful. A young teen’s summer at her family’s holiday spot where old friends, family tensions and alluringly dangerous older kids play central roles

It’s a modern day reimagining of Pride & Prejudice set primarily in Cincinnati, by Curtis Sittenfeld. I was a bit worried it would seem too on the nose or like a high spirited parody at first but I got very invested. P&P is one of my favourite novels so I was prepared to either love or loathe it, I’m happy to say I loved it. For an adaptation of a novel I’ve read many many times, this was full of surprises.

Easily my favourite non-fiction of the year. Had to pace myself so I didn’t stay up all night reading it. The author is so brutally honest about her experiences and actions – I feel like I’ve lived through some of it along with her.

Cheryl Strayed’s gigantic hike was perplexing to me but reading about how she managed to accomplish it all fascinated me. The movie was enjoyable but the book with all its nitty gritty details about shoes and food and old guide books was hugely satisfying to me.

The fascinating journey of John Hargrove from idolizing Sea World orca trainers as a kid, to eventually becoming one, to his 2012 departure from Sea World and participation in the documentary Blackfish. I loved learning about the processes that run a place like SeaWorld (theme park obsession) as well as a deeper insight into the animal rights issue that’s shaping the SeaWorld debate today.

I do have 3 books that were my standouts: Bad Behaviour, Natural Way of Things & Illuminae. Three very different works that were my favourites of 2015.

So there you have it! I read a lot of great things this year, I’m massively grateful that my job’s allowed me to never run out of reading material. Logging my reading since the start of the year with a quick photo and one or two lines has been really helpful in keeping track of it all, and I’ll be continuing that habit in 2016.